BANCROFT NEUROHEALTH AND

We evaluated the long-term therapeutic effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR). In Experiment 1, NCR effects were examined with 2 participants ’ arbitrary responses; in Experiment 2, NCR was used as treatment with 3 participants whose self-injurious be-havior (SIB) was maintained by automatic reinforcement. In both experiments, NCR consisted of continuous access to a highly preferred leisure item and was implemented initially during 10-min and later during 120-min sessions. Varied reinforcers (leisure items) were subsequently introduced during 120-min sessions to determine if treatment effects might be extended. Finally (Experiment 2 only), NCR was implemented through-out the day in participants ’ homes. Results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that rein-forcers obtained through object manipulation can compete with those obtained auto-matically by engaging in SIB during brief NCR sessions. However, data from the 120-min sessions indicated that satiation to a specific leisure item might occur over periods of time more typical of those during which treatment would be implemented. Access to a variety of highly preferred leisure items extended the effectiveness of NCR for some individuals. When NCR was implemented throughout the day (Experiment 2), thera-peutic effects were shown to be maintained for up to 1 year. DESCRIPTORS: automatic reinforcement, functional analysis, noncontingent rein-forcement, stimulus preference assessment Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) has been used successfully as treatment for